


Friction

by Judgement



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9171559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judgement/pseuds/Judgement
Summary: You had fully expected to dedicate your life to your career while married to your computer, andmaybeowning several dozen cats.  Of course, fate has other plans and to say you are dissatisfied with what she has in store is an understatement.You did so not sign up for this bullshit.[Bucky Barnes x Reader]





	

**Author's Note:**

> New story! Once again this is a chaptered and continuation story inspired from [Burns - Soulmate AU](http://oneshots-imagines-and-that.tumblr.com/post/146830380641/burns-bucky-barnes-x-reader-soulmate-au) by [Oneshots-imagines-and-that](http://oneshots-imagines-and-that.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Apologies if the format looks a little weird, was having difficulties uploading this without huge chunks of space in between each paragraph and dialogue.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it.

You were not having a good day, or week, month. Perhaps it was just better to say that the entire _year_ was turning out to be a massive downward slope of cluster fucks. Today had been no different. You spent the night before staying up to study and when your brain fried itself. When you no longer take in any more information, you decided some shots would soothe your frazzled nerves. That was a mistake. Three shots later your exhausted self had collapsed half onto the leather couch. Where you figured you were okay with getting a sore neck from the odd angle and fell asleep.

Six hours later you woke up with a start; your mind screaming about exams as you attempted not to topple off the couch. “Shit,” You breathed out, nose wrinkling at the own smell of your morning breath mixed with lingering alcohol. “Note to self, don’t drink to calm nerves.” The muscles in your neck promptly agreed as you straightened up. Signals being sent to your brain that said _fuck this hurts_.

“Aion,” You groaned rubbing at your sore neck as you peered around for your cell phone. “Where’d you go?”

The faint reply from the other room signaled you left it in your bedroom and stumbled around the coffee table; that contained the scattered papers of a hefty study session. It looked about as hazardous as the rest of your apartment building did. Rubbing with your free hand at the bit of dry drool that crusted onto your face. A disgusted wrinkle of your nose at the unpleasant feeling. Pushing the door open with your hip you squinted at the onslaught of sun filtering through the window.

“What time is it?” You grumbled out, tossing several discarded pieces of clothing onto the floor to retrieve your phone. Which lit up the second it was uncovered.

“ _It’s almost nine-thirty.”_

Nearly choking on your own spit you glanced down at the displayed clock and your heart seized. Your stomach erupted into a nervous pit of angry butterflies.

“Shit! _Aion_ ,” You sprinted into the adjourned bathroom, stripping off your clothes all the way. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?!”

“ _Forgive me, it’s rather difficult to wake you when you leave me in the other room.”_ You seethed at the sarcastic response. Tossing the cellphone a glare before throwing it onto the counter and hopping into the shower; a squeal erupting from your lips when the ice cold water touched skin. It was enough to further provoke a headache you had been feeling. That dull ache at the edge of your temples turning into a full throb.

 _"There’s also an alert that went off about twenty minutes ago,”_ You can hear Aion over the rush of water and run your hands through your hair, getting most of the shampoo out.

“About what?” You sincerely hoped it had nothing to do with the exam time being moved, otherwise, you were sure to have a heart attack.

_“It seems like there’s some.. commotion going on outside. Most residents have been instructed to stay inside, some are being evacuated.”_

Now that was something to catch your attention and you poked your head out of the shower, hands clinging to the shower curtain in an effort to protect your modesty but you were sure that Aion had seen it all already.

“ _What?_ What for?”

_“The public wasn’t given full disclosure other than the Avengers are currently investigating or working on it, unfortunately, you fall into the evacuation zone and by the looks of several sources it’s in the opposite direction of your university.”_

_Fucking shit,_ you could only muster up the energy to think of other colorful words before throwing the curtain back in its spot and quickly finish up your shower. There was no time to blow-dry or do your hair and that left you with picking out one of the few clothes left clean hanging in your closet.

“What percent are you at?”

You hadn’t bothered to take him off the counter in the bathroom as you pulled your wet hair up into a messy bun to keep it out of the way, tossing clothes around looking for socks.

_“Twenty-three percent.”_

Pulling on your sneakers you grabbed the other case and your cell phone, tossing off the old case and putting on the new one that was fully charged. The rest of your things were already near the front door, tossed around in a drunken attempt to be ‘ready’ for the morning before you had stumbled over to the couch and passed out.

“How much time do I have before-” The words died on your lips the second the door swung open revealing neighbors and others who lived in the same area you did behind herded like cattle down the road. There was a constant murmur and occasionally a shout, and before you could promptly shut the door and maybe find a way using the fire escape, an officer was already squeezing his way through the crowd of people toward your front door.

_“I’m afraid you have no time.”_

Shooting your phone a nasty look before shoving it into your pocket you took a quick step back before the officer could reach out to you.

“I’m sorry, this all looks super important but I have finals to get to-”

“Ma’am we are instructed to get everyone in this area out.”

“But I have finals in that direction, is there any chance you can-”

“Your life won’t end if you miss the finals.” They say, clearly aggravated and grabbing your forearm to pull you out of your apartment.

“Clearly, you haven’t had to take finals in the last decade.” You snap, an annoyed look on your face as you rip your arm away from the officer and meld into the crowd of people. The ripple of hushed whispers asking what was going on but like Aion had said, it seemed no one was really sure what exactly everyone was being evacuated for. It didn’t bode well for most, evacuation from the Avengers typically meant you were about to lose a part of the city and there went all your stuff, all your hard earned money, gone.

The vibration of your phone drags your attention away from a couple calming their upset child a few paces ahead of you, Katie’s number illuminated your phone and you pressed the phone to one ear while using your free one to plug your other ear to drown out the murmur.

“ _Where are you!?”_

“I’m stuck in the evacuation, please tell me you’re calling with good news.”

“ _Uh, no. This is Professor McDick or did you forget?”_

“I was hoping there would be a strike of sympathy in a situation entirely out of my control?”

“ _Whatever you took this morning to possess you to say that, I’d like a cup. He’s already made an off-hand comment about people who don’t show taking a zero.”_

“Ugh, of course. What time is it?”

“ _It’s almost ten, you have a half hour to find a way here.”_

“Fuck okay, I’m going.”

Without waiting for a reply you yank the phone away from your ear, the call promptly ending. A quick glance tells you the asshole of a cop who cared less about your future was occupied with a frantic man begging for information the sucker didn’t have.

“Okay, Aion, time to find the fastest route out of here.

“ _Calculated, but you do realize that will take you directly through what they are trying to evacuate you from, right?”_ The wary voice of Aion said as a map displayed on your screen and highlighted your route in blue.

“If I miss the final I’m dead, so, either way, I’m risking death.”

“ _If you’re positive, slip away into the alley on your right you can cut across there and attract less attention.”_

Squeezing your way through the crowd with one last glance toward the officer before pressing out of the crowd and into the alley. A couple people cast a glance your way but immediately their attention is elsewhere and you breathe a small sigh of relief, glancing down at your phone. One far enough it was an eerie type of silence that accompanied you, the kind that made the hairs on your arms stand on end. A glance over your shoulder told you no one was following you. The thumping of your chest wouldn’t quiet down, the murmur of the crowd having disappeared the further away from it that you got.

“Aion,” You whisper bringing the illuminated phone within your hands closer to your face. “What exactly are we being evacuated from?”

“ _There’s no official word.”_

“Okay, but security feed? Anything? I’m walking into the fire zone, knowing what to keep away from would be really nice.”

“ _Or you could turn around and safely evacuate.”_

“Aion!”

“ _I have already scanned all security feed within their chosen district, but I have found nothing to require evacuation.”_ The AI program responded, sounding slightly exasperated.

“What?” You say, brows furrowing as you stop at the edge of the alley.

“ _Security feed from local departments reveal-”_

“What are you doing here?”

Like a deer caught in the headlights, you couldn’t stop the startled expression that filtered across your face, muffling Aion with your hands around the speakers of your cell phone. Mind scrambling for an excuse as a sheepish smile melted across your face.

“Ahah, funny story you see-”

“We have a civilian within the targeted zone.” He cut you off, pressing his hand to the earpiece sitting snug on his ear.

“ _Ugh seriously? Can’t civilians ever listen?”_

You can hear whoever is on the other end retort and you can feel your face immediately flush red from anger and embarrassment. You had better things to do rather than stand here and be ridiculed by some-some _pompous looking asshole who could star in a L’Oreal commercial._

“I need to get you to safety.” He said before moving closer to grab onto your forearm, which was only met with resistance as you yanked your arm away.

“No, you need to get your grubby hands off of me.”

From what Aion had said, there was nothing in the immediate area to call for an evacuation of this scale. If memory served you, occasionally the Avengers had things go.. awry and caused property destruction. This seemed to be one of those cases of pulling their power to make everyone’s day an absolute inconvenience.

“I don’t know about you, but I have an exam to get to.” With that said you stood a little straighter before moving to walk by him. You had no intention of being bossed around by a bunch of people who thought just because they possessed some political power and money they could get away with ruining your entire career.

His hand reaches your arm again and brings you to a full stop as you turn around, planting your feet solidly on the ground. Another yank frees your arm from his grip once again, at the cost of your jacket dipping down your shoulder. The cool autumn breeze brushing against your bare shoulder and your mouth opens to give whoever the fuck L’Oreal hired a piece of your mind. They had no right-

An echoing boom and sudden heat explodes behind you, the heat wave and impact throwing stray strands of your hair in front of your mouth that goes from opened and ready to yell to slack-jawed with wide eyes. The explosion is loud enough to make your ears ring and the heat bursts against the back of your legs and every inch of your body making it feel similar to a sauna. Your heartbeat drums in your ears, a steadily increasing pace that even had your hearing returned you doubted you would be able to hear anything out of it.

The car in front of the alley the two of you were in was on fire, flames licking at the air as gasoline poured from the tank near the back. Instinct told you to run away while logic explained this was probably reckless but at the same time opened up the _perfect_ opportunity to get away and make a break toward the University.

Slowly turning your head back you could see the L’Oreal commercial guy reaching up to his earpiece and shouting something into it, his attention more on the car than you at the current time. Though that immediately switched when you took that as your cue to _get the fuck out_. Jerking away from him quickly everything felt like you had entered slow motion, each step felt surprisingly long and the ringing in your ears was replaced by the heavy pounding of your heart and pounding of your feet against the concrete.

“Shit-”

Was all you managed to hear as a high pitch whine began to emit from the car that you immediately took wide birth around less it explode and catch you in it. The impact of the guy chasing you sends you sprawling onto your stomach. The explosion rocking the both of you and unbeknownst to you, phone slipping out of your pocket and skidding several feet away near the edge of another car.

The impact of both guy and the car sends you scraping part of your cheek, hands, and knees against the gravel of the street, scraping up your palms and scratching your face a bit. A harsh hiss from the sting pressing past your lips as you wait for your sense of vertigo to stop spinning and allow you to shove the guy off and resume your frantic running back to class.

“Are you alright?” He sounds more concerned than angry, which if roles were reversed you would have been seething in his position at the stupidity of running near a car threatening to explode. But situations weren’t, and if he was going to feel bad for it then _good_ , it spared you some time trying to ask for an apology.

His hand brushes against the crook of your neck as he slowly sits up, not fully off of you knowing you’d run, so he was smart enough for that. So you laid on the ground, resting your scratched cheek on the gravel while staring at his hand which was pressed against the crook of your neck and on the ground to prop himself up.

You don’t notice it at first, his other arm preoccupied you guessed with the device in his ear as he spoke nonsense to whoever was on the other line. The feathery sensation of his bare skin against your should as he propped himself up, but still half sat on you to prevent you from going anywhere suddenly went south. The ghost of both your skin touch immediately felt like liquid fire against your shoulder, a strangled noise erupting from your throat as you flailed.

“Hey-” You don’t give him time to continue when a scream rips past your throat, both your hands grabbing onto his wrist to attempt to pry it away from you and throw him off you.

He’s off faster than you can blink, the pain is still burning like the sun has dipped fire into your veins where he had touched. White and black spots dance in your vision as you roll onto your back and immediately one hand throws itself over the spot as if that will cool off the burning sensation. The other goes behind you to prop yourself up and he’s staring at you with wide eyes.

“What did you do?!” Your voice cracks as another hot wave of pain burns across your neck, trailing up behind your ear and leaving it feeling raw. Your legs bend, curling into yourself as you let out a low groan and press both hands up against the wound, pulling a hand away and expecting to find blood.

You’re heaving, fear plucking through your veins but there’s no blood on your hands and you look back at the man still hovering a few feet away. His metal arm is clutching his flesh one and that’s when you notice it, his scrunched up face and hard look in his eyes which stare down at the inner side of his wrist. A black tattoo design searing its way into his skin and dancing up from where you had grabbed onto him. The pattern like a burn leaving the skin irritated as black continued to bloom like a flower.

You knew exactly what this was, your brain supplied it faster than you could take another shuddering breath in. Registering the black mark and similar raw feeling against your neck that displayed on his inner arm.

_No, nonono. This isn’t happening._

Confusion crossed his eyebrows and that’s when you realized it hadn’t sunk in yet, or he didn’t understand what was happening. You could use this.

On your feet faster than one could blink you turned on your heel and ran as fast as your legs could carry you. A strangled _Wait!_ In the distance calling you out but you ignored it, weaving around the cars littered in the street and into another alleyway that would take you straight out of the evacuation zone and toward your University.

Trembling legs nearly give out on you when you step beneath the police tape and out of the evacuation zone. Weaving your way back into the scarce crowd of people and toward your university just a few blocks away. Fingers fumbling around for your phone before you freeze in your tracks, patting down your sweatshirt pockets and pants pockets before glancing back with a growing sense of dread.

_Shit._

You had lost your phone during the scuffle near that car with the guy. You’d have to see if you could sneak back and find it, or hopefully when the evacuation was cleared you’d be able to find it, in the meantime you focused your attention on getting to the university. The burning sensation on your neck made your head throb as adrenaline finally calmed down. Pulling at the hair tie and ripping it free from your still wet hair, the cool dampness feeling like heaven on your neck so you gather a handful and press it against your neck.

* * *

“[Name]!” Katie nearly shouts when she sees you at the entrance. Throwing herself into a sprint to reach you and immediately stopping when she sees your scratched cheek.“Are you alright? Hurry! He’s going to start in a few minutes.”

Your legs feel ready to give out but she grabs onto your arm that isn’t preoccupied with pressing your wet hair to the tender spot on your neck. You stumble once and thankfully she doesn’t seem too concerned about it, tossing the door open to your classroom and shoving you inside. The professor tosses you a dirty look and you duck away to your seat in the middle and sit down, Katie pressing herself back into her seat of the row in front of you.

“So nice of you two to join us.”

He calls leisurely, an irritated look on his face as he walks over to the door and clicks it locked. Dooming everyone who hadn’t made it inside the classroom yet, to a failing grade of a whopping zero. Something you were apparently just seconds away from taking and a trembling sigh of relief rushes out of you.

“Pick up your pencils and begin, class will end in exactly one hour in which you will hand in your tests finished or not. Begin.”

The number two pencil is difficult to hold at first with trembling hands and fingers but eventually the rush of adrenaline slows down allowing you to focus, albeit sluggishly, on the work in front of you.


End file.
